Nissan's Duster clone named Terrano

Nissan today revealed the name of its Duster-based SUV as the 'Terrano.' It will be produced at the company's Oragadam Plant and will be priced above the Renault as per the Renault-Nissan Alliance

It's been known for a while now that Nissan is working on its version of the Renault Duster SUV in India under the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The Japanese car maker has now announced the name of its Duster clone -- Terrano. [Update (20/08/2013):Nissan showcases Terrano SUV in India]

The Terrano nameplate is being brought back as the re-badged Duster by Nissan as the original Nissan Terrano was a mid-size SUV that was in production from 1993 to 2006.

Nissan’s version of the Duster, like most badge re-engineered vehicles, will feature cosmetic changes which as per the rendering look rather attractive.

The Japanese car maker has given the Terrano a new front end comprising a new bonnet with a prominent power dome, an attractive grille with Nissan’s trademark ‘V’ shaped design theme with chrome bars running from bumper to bonnet, new angular headlamps and a chunkier bumper with a lower bull bar design and prominent fog lamp housings. The side profile of the Nissan Terrano rendering gets a crease stretching from the lower end of the front apron to the rear wheel arch along with a frameless window look. The Terrano is also likely to get new tail lights and a restyled tail gate.

Considering the heavy exterior styling changes, it is likely that due to budget constraints, the interiors of the Nissan Terrano will remain the same as the Renault Duster's. The Renault SUV is available in three trim levels for the diesel model and two trim levels for the petrol model. The Terrano, too, may be available with the same trim options considering that the interiors will remain unchanged.

Mechanically, the Nissan Terrano will continue to be powered by the 1.5 litre dCi engine that is available in two states of tune on the Duster. It is not known yet if the Terrano will come with a petrol engine though the Duster does with a 1.6-litre engine.

President and CEO of Nissan Motor India, Kenichiro Yomura, said that the Terrano will play a key role in increasing sales within the Indian market.

“I am delighted to reveal both the name and the very first image of what will be a very important model for Nissan. You can see from the sketch that Terrano has a bold and distinctive design that I am confident will appeal to our growing customer base in India, as will its driving performance and range of other features that will be revealed at a later date,” said Yomura.

The Terrano will be produced at Nissan’s Oragadam Plant alongside the Micra hatchback, Sunny mid-size sedan and Evalia MUV.

As for the price, since the Terrano is borrowed from Renault it will be priced anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh (depending on the variant) above the Duster’s pricing.

Nissan will be launching the Terrano in 2013 but as of now there are no confirmations on a launch date.